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Rigoberta Menchú: -er and -ir verbs 1st and 2nd person singular (preterite)
I can use the preterite tense to talk about past events in my life and other people’s lives.
Lesson 1 of 4
New
New
- Year 9
Rigoberta Menchú: -er and -ir verbs 1st and 2nd person singular (preterite)
I can use the preterite tense to talk about past events in my life and other people’s lives.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Regular review of vocabulary moves it into long-term memory.
- We only roll the 'r' when it's written as [rr] or when the [r] is at the beginning of a word.
- The preterite tense is used to talk about events completed in the past.
- To mean ‘I’, remove -er/-ir and add -í, e.g. 'leer' - 'leí', 'vivir' - 'viví'.
- To mean ‘you’, remove -er/-ir and add -iste, e.g. 'leer' - 'leiste', 'vivir' - 'viviste'.
Keywords
Preterite tense - a tense used for events completed in the past
Common misconception
A single 'r' is never rolled.
When the [r] is at the beginning of a word, we do roll it. For example, 'respeto', 'religión'.
As part of a research project, the teacher could ask students to investigate figures such as Nemonte Nenquimo, Yalitza Aparicio, or Evo Morales, and then conduct peer interviews based on the person they researched.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'that'?
Which word means 'that'?
en
con
por
sin
Q2.Match the Spanish and English.
Match the Spanish and English.
Q3.Match the Spanish and English.
Match the Spanish and English.
Q4.Order the words to say: 'he doesn't understand and she must listen'.
Order the words to say: 'he doesn't understand and she must listen'.
Q5.Write in English: 'tienes mucho apoyo'.
Write in English: 'tienes mucho apoyo'.
Q6.Write in Spanish: 'she can work here'.
Write in Spanish: 'she can work here'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.In which words is [r] rolled?
In which words is [r] rolled?
dinero
sobre
visitar
Q2.Order the words to say: 'I read the words and you read the answer'.
Order the words to say: 'I read the words and you read the answer'.
Q3.Write in Spanish: 'I translated and you (singular) drank'. Do not include pronouns.
Write in Spanish: 'I translated and you (singular) drank'. Do not include pronouns.
Q4.Write in Spanish: 'I believed and you (singular) divided'. Do not include pronouns.
Write in Spanish: 'I believed and you (singular) divided'. Do not include pronouns.
